Despite a decrease in spending compared to the previous year, the annual cost of agency and bank nurses in 2024-25 was still more than double the cost in 2018-19 and close to triple the cost in 2014-15.
On March 31, 2021, the total spend sat at £235,881,478.69. As of 31 March this year, it sat at £410,139,391.91.
In the period between March 2021 and now, the highest spending year was 2024 where the bill was £489, 997, 555.95.
Scottish Labour has warned about the impact of SNP not recruiting more permanent staff whilst vacancies for nurses and midwives remain at over 2,600.
READ MORE:
Commenting on the figures, Scottish Labour Health Spokesperson Jackie Baillie MSP said: “The SNP has spent almost two decades mismanaging our health service, opting for short-term fixes, rather than coming up with a solution to address long-term challenges.
“The use of temporary staff is an expensive sticking plaster and cannot be a substitute for a proper plan aimed at tackling the significant problems facing the NHS.
“This is an unsustainable way of managing our health service and ministers must listen to calls for a workforce plan to meet recruitment needs.”
The Scottish Government has said the figures show yearly progress is being made and the use of temporary staff will always been needed in an organisation as “large and complex” as the NHS.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “NHS Scotland’s overall workforce, including nursing and midwifery staffing, has increased over the last year, whilst the latest workforce statistics show a 62% reduction in nurse agency usage and spend across 2024/25, decreasing for the second year in a row.
“These figures show the progress being made to reduce NHS Scotland’s reliance on agency workers and focus resources on frontline services, which has enabled boards to reinvest upwards of £94 million in the delivery of those services most valued by the Scottish public.
“The use of temporary staff in an organisation as large and complex as NHS Scotland will always be required to ensure vital service provision during times of unplanned absence, sickness or increased activity.”
The news comes as agency staff are being paid as high as 400% of the standard rate in certain parts of Scotland.
Agency nursing and medical staff are often employed by private companies, and given temporary NHS roles to fill staffing gaps.
They differ from ‘bank’ staff, included the Scottish Labour statistics, which are pools of temporary NHS staff hired by the NHS at the Agenda for Change pay scale.
Figures show NHS Dumfries and Galloway reported some of the highest costs, paying some agency nurses as much as 462% of the standard rate for nursing cover.
The health board has said that agency use is ‘always a last resort’, with cover offered first to existing staff. However, they have highlighted that long term vacancies and sickness means this is not always possible.
The Scottish government has said, despite agency nurses only making up a small fraction of total NHS staff costs, it is working to reduce its reliance on agencies.